Obviously job creation is a huge topic right now, next to the Super Bowl and the New Orleans Saints.  However, jobs will be a topic around the water cooler long after the ticker tape parades are over.

Stimulating small business appears to be a major concern too.  However, after looking at the stats, helping small business may be more of a dog and pony show than a reality.

First of all, with the SBA increasing guarantees [...] Continue Reading…

Yesterday, I was in the lobby in line at Chase Bank.

I was the seventh person deep. Only one teller is working. One teller is not uncommon at this branch. However, it’s late Friday afternoon.

Logically speaking, I would think the time of day and the day of the week would be a peak time.

As I look over at the “customer service” desk, I see the CS [...] Continue Reading…

Don’t you just love advertising? I do.

I remember the big push a couple of years ago by lenders promoting FHA loans. The FHA loans became popular after the teaser rate loans lost their steam.

Right now, rates are extremely low, but you can’t ride this horse forever either.

So how about home buyer tax credits? The tax credit has been extended, but they won’t last for ever [...] Continue Reading…

As I mentioned in my post, the Recession Must Be Over, I mentioned Obama said he wouldn’t raise taxes during a recession.  However, my income taxes did go up approximately, 13% this year.

Giving credit to Obama, in order to be fair, he plans to have capital gains taxes eliminated for some individuals, including small business owners as well, which is an extension of the 2008, 2009 tax law changes.

So who do pays capital gains?  [...] Continue Reading…

I was at a luncheon for bankers today and we were talking about small business. In a tougher economy as we have today, we wanted to see if bankers were looking for additional or different information contained within the loan packaging requirements. Typical items from borrowers include business plans, feasibility studies, personal financial statements, etc.

When speaking, a banker who deals with SBA loans and packaging said, yes, financials and projections are [...] Continue Reading…

Getting bonus money back from AIG employees will come from taxing, also known as a fee, the banks will incur in Obama’s budget request. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Congress can recover those “outrageous” bonuses.

Why is it that bonuses are the only things outrageous? As much as $100 million is to you and me, it’s only a drop in the bucket compared other outrageous spending activities Congress does. Didn’t [...] Continue Reading…

What’s the difference between government jobs and private sector jobs? Before answering the question, I thought I would begin by letting you know what I see.

To begin, every day I drive to the office and see these little curb “enhancements” at almost every street corner along one street. The reason I say almost every corner is because some are skipped. The corners have been cut and a slope, or ramp, has been added. What’s [...] Continue Reading…